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Perspectives on ’s chemical-biochemical industry he Canadian province of On- on the Ontario chemical and allied in- that Ontario boasts of. These include the tario is the nation’s economic dustry (which appeared in October 20, agricultural groups who are key partici- Tpowerhouse and also the chemi- 2015, issue), we highlighted some of pants in ensuring a successful bioeco- cal hub of the country. The strengths and the established and upcoming chemical nomy model; natural gas storage and investment opportunities in the chemi- firms in the region and the leading inte- transmission firms; institutes of learn- cal industry in Ontario were showcased grated industrial parks located in Sar- ing that not only provide the qualified to a group of international journalists nia. In this issue, we will put the spot- human resources to drive research and during a recent tour arranged by the light on those parts of the industry value production activities in the region, but Ontario Ministry of Economic Develop- chain, which remain in the background, also actively engage with other stake- ment, Employment and Infrastructure but are essential building blocks of the holders to chart out the future roadmap (MEDEI). In the first part of our report successful chemical-biochemical model for the industry; and few others.

BREEDING GROUND University of and agricultural trade groups drive bioeconomy related projects The Guelph region in the south west applications for industrial biotechno- Ontario Agri-Food Technologies part of Ontario is among the largest ag- logy applications, apart from providing (OAFT), which comprises members ricultural areas in the province and also feedstock for the biochemical industry. from grower associations, universities, offers the largest amount of sustainably industry and provincial governments, harvestable crop residues in Ontario – Biomass feedstock and value addi- focuses on developing new market mainly from grain corn, winter wheat tion opportunities beyond traditional food and soybean. According to Ms. Nicole Mackellar, markets, informed Dr. Tyler Whale of Manager-Market Development at Grain OFAT. The body provides support in A number of farmer and agricul- Farmers of Ontario – a 28,000-member terms of funding and matchmaking ac- tural trade groups operating in the re- strong farmer body – about $1.5-mn has tivities to companies looking to deve- gion keenly support the creation of been committed by the group towards lop a business plan, capacity expansion bioprocessing industries, which use innovations in the bioeconomy in the or research project. these residues. These initiatives help past five years. Some of the research in crop diversification and new uses projects that the group has been sup- Similarly, the Soy 20/20 project for agricultural residues, enabling risk porting include development of high oil seeks to bring government, academic reduction and increased farm revenue; soybeans for biodiesel, a new class of and industry partners together to ex- further benefit also accrue through par- engineered green composites from soy plore new bioscience opportunities ticipation or ownership positions in meal and soy-based thermoplastic com- for players in the soybeans sector in various components of the value chain. posites. Canada. Mr. Jeff Schmalz, CEO of the These groups actively support the group, pointed out that about 20 new adoption of new technologies and crop Mr. Don McCabe, President of On- opportunities in non-food sector have tario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), been identified by Soy 20/20. which lays claim to being Canada’s largest voluntary farm organisation “We have done work in many of representing over 37,000 farm families, these areas and three of the largest op- said the farmer lobby had started out by portunities include lubricants, polyols supplying biomass for bioenergy appli- and paints & coatings. We match On- cations, but has now evolved to capture tario grown speciality soybean varieties value in areas like biochemicals and like high oleic and high linoleic acid bioplastics. soybeans to these business opportuni-

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velopment Centre (BDDC) – an in- terdisciplinary centre where plant bio- logists, chemists and engineers pool their expertise. The BDDC team is led by the Director Prof. Amar Mohanty, Professor and Ontario Premier’s Re- search Chair in Biomaterials and Trans- portation at the University of Guelph.

The experts at the BDDC combine distinct areas of study including gene- tics, molecular biology, agronomy, and materials engineering to turn non-food plant materials into resins, polymers and tough fibres for the production of petro- leum-free plastics. BDDC is focussed on providing sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based resources, while trying ties,” he said. “We seek out products/ Pioneering research on biomateri- to capture value for co-products, such as catagories, which will utilise specia- als at the University is undertaken in lignin and glycerol from biofuels, which lity varieties of soybeans, and develop the Bioproducts Discovery and De- might otherwise be waste products. products accordingly. The farmers re- ceive incremental profit by growing such identity-preserved soybean varie- ties,” he added.

Research activities Even as the agricultural trade groups provide the impetus for value-addition activities in biomass, the fulcrum of bio- economy related research activities in the region is undoubtedly the prestigious Uni- versity of Guelph, which has a long history of research in agriculture. The partnership between the University and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs is said to have direct and spin-off impacts on the Ontario economy worth more than $1 billion per year.

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“BDDC is actively engaged in in- and distributor of packaged coffees in dustry-led projects that will see com- Canada. ‘P-rPod100’ is the world’s first mercial application in the near-term. 100% compostable, fully certified sin- Companies working in the automo- gle-serve pod for coffee, tea and other tive, packaging or building materials hot beverages. It is made with renew- sectors will find the BDDC a valuable able, bio-based materials, including the partner in biomaterials production coffee bean chaff from the roasting pro- and processing,” observed Prof. Mo- cess. hanty. “We wanted to have an environmen- Some of the successes from the work tally-acceptable single serve pod. Dr. done at the Centre include plastic bins, Mohanty and his team were able to help flower pots and bird feeders made from us with all the expertise we needed. And switchgrass, which are already avail- Speaking about one of the other suc- BDDC was critical in linking us to part- able through at least two major Cana- cess stories catalysed by the BDDC, ners such as Atul Bali at Competitive dian hardware stores. The products have Prof. Mohanty pointed to the example of Green Technologies,” informed Mr. Clau- made an economic impact, with at least ‘P-rPod100’ developed by Club Coffee, dio Gemmiti, Senior Vice President, Inno- two-spin-off companies. a leading roaster, contract manufacturer vation & Strategic Growth at Club Coffee.

HYBRID MODEL -Lambton keen on developing chemical clusters that synergise bio- and petro-based routes The Sarnia-Lambton Economic residues & forestry products in On- Partnership (SLEP), a public-private tario,” said Mr. George Mallay, Gene- partnership that offers handholding ral Manager, SLEP. services to companies looking to set up businesses in Lambton County and Sarnia-Lambton’s target industries City of Sarnia, is keen on developing include bio-chemical & bio-hybrid bio-hybrid chemical clusters in the re- chemicals, traditional refining & chemi- gion. cals, cleantech & energy infrastructure, agriculture/food processing, etc. Sarnia is home to more than 60 refineries and chemical plants and is “For the next two decades we will known as Canada’s ‘Chemical Val- be focused on promoting bio-hybrid ley’. About 40% of Canada’s chemi- model of chemical industry. The num- Western Lambton Sarnia Research Park cal industry is located in this region. ber of renewable-based companies will Established multinationals include Air increase as we build on this hybrid Products, Cabot Carbon, CF Indus- concept. Increasing shale gas use is re- tries, DuPont, Exxon-Mobil, Styrolu- sulting in lower production of C4s and tion, Lanxess, Nova Chemicals, Suncor aromatics and driving new bio-based Energy, etc. Agriculture – the second opportunities in chemicals like n-buta- largest economic sector in the region – nol, isobutanol, adipic acid, isoprene, is a key source of biomass. “Sarnia- etc.,” said Mr. David Moody, Project Lambton provides unique access to fos- Leader, Business Growth Services, sil-based and renewable materials. The SLEP. region has access to natural gas & crude oil from Western Canada, shale gas Another agency driving efforts in Mr. George Mallay from North American basins, and crop establishing networked hybrid clusters

Chemical Weekly January 5, 2016 203 Canada Calling by accelerating and commercialising is designed to help bridge the gap bet- new technologies in Ontario is Bio- ween research and market in chemicals industrial Innovation Canada (BIC). and energy production from biomass. BIC was the catalyst for Canada’s first Bowman Centre’s pilot plant clients hybrid chemistry cluster in Sarnia- include Woodland Biofuels, KmX and Lambton. BIC was set up with $15-mn GreenCore Composites among others. in seed funding from Canada’s Centres of Excellence for Commercialization In its bid to build on the success and Research (CECR) programme in of Sarnia hybrid chemical cluster, Mr. 2008. It established an incubator faci- Sandy Marshall, Chairman, BIC, said lity at the Sarnia-Lambton Campus of the agency is exploring viability of the Western University Research Park to constructing a cellulosic sugar conver- provide client companies with access to Mr. Sandy Marshall sion plant in by 2018, over 50,000 square feet of office, labo- for research, commercialisation and en- which will process up to 250,000-tonnes ratories and pilot plant infrastructure trepreneurship. The accelerator facility of agricultural residue annually. PETROCHEMICALS Nova Chemicals’ Ontario site competitiveness improves post cracker revamp

Nova Chemicals Corporation, the Calgary (, Canada) based firm with focus on ethylene, polyethylene and performance styrenic polymers, is looking at improved prospects for its Ontario operations after a $250-mn ret- rofit project to enable use of 100% NGL (natural gas liquids) feedstock sourced from growing North American supplies.

The firm’s current businesses and joint ventures focus on ethylene & polyethylene and performance styrenic polymers. Owned by International Pe- troleum Investment Company (IPIC) of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the company has major manufacturing operations in Ontario firm’s other facilities in the region, as up to 1.3 billion pounds of low-density and Alberta (in Canada) and in the US. also to plants of leading companies like polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density Lanxess and Styrolution located in the polyethylene (HDPE). In the period In Ontario, the sites are located in vicinity. Companies like Suncor Energy, before 2009, the company’s operations Sarnia-Lambton district at Corunna, Imperial Oil, Shell, Praxair, apart from in Corunna, which were based on naph- Mooretown and St. Clair Township. In feedstock & utility firms like Union Gas tha (and so linked to the high crude oil Corunna, the company produces 1.8 bil- and TransAlta, are also part of this ex- prices prevailing at that time), were not lion pounds of ethylene and up to 700 tensive pipeline network. found to be competitive with its Western million pounds of co-products annually. Canadian assets in Alberta with access The Corunna site is the hub of Canada’s Nova Chemicals’ facilities at Moore to cheaper oil sands. largest petrochemicals cluster – pipe- Site and St. Clair Township convert ethy- lines from the site supply olefins to the lene received from the Corunna site into According to Mr. Rob Thompson,

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lity based on its proprietary ‘Advanced SCLAIRTECH technology’ (AST). The company also said plans remain under way for a LDPE debottleneck and HDPE retrofit at the Mooretown plant.The existing and planned pro- jects are part of the company’s Nova 2020 growth strategy, which includes continued capital spending on strategic petrochemicals expansion in Ontario and Alberta, based on North America’s increased demand as well as its emerg- ing feedstock opportunities. Nova Chemicals regional operations plans to focus on completing a conver- leader, this prompted the company to sion to full ethane utilisation along with “We are a cornerstone of Ontario’s embark on a three-phase revamp and an expansion of the Corunna cracker by petrochemical industry. We have in- pipeline project. The $250-mn retrofit around 2018. This phase will also see vested more than $1 billion over the project in the first phase, which was the development of a pipeline project to last 10 years into our Ontario manufac- completed in 2014, has seen the Co- gain access to Utica Shale Basin ethane, turing facilities to ensure ongoing safe runna cracker becoming the first in the as the company moves to ensure mul- and reliable operations that will remain world to source ethane feedstock from tiple pipeline options with varied supply competitive in global markets. We have the Marcellus Shale Basin. of feedstock for the Corunna cracker. announced more than $300-mn in pro- jects over next few years and there is po- In the phase two, involving an in- In the third phase, the company will tential for more than $1-bn investment vestment of over $300-mn, the company investigate a second polyethylene faci- in the future,” said Mr. Thompson.

GAS TRADING HUB Union Gas aims to further boost natural gas transmission activities at Dawn hub

Union Gas Ltd., a major Canadian natural gas storage, transmission and distribution company based in Ontario, is planning to pump in around C$1.5-bn in the next two years to expand its pipe- line and compressor infrastructure as it looks to increase takeaway capacity by 20%. Compression facilities are es- sential to the movement of natural gas through pipeline systems.

Union Gas’ storage and transmis- sion business offers a variety of storage and transportation services to its cus- tomers with the help of the largest in- tegrated underground storage facility in Canada, and one of the largest in North America, located at Dawn, Southwest of Sarnia.

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The Union Gas Dawn Hub is the second most physically traded hub in North America averaging over seven billion cubic feet of trading activity per day. Its strategic loca- tion provides direct access to North America’s major supply basins, in- cluding natural gas supplies in Utica and Marcellus. ensures our customer’s contract de- gas between the Dawn Hub and the mands are met during peak times and Parkway compressor station located Dawn consists of 23 intercon- allows Union Gas to offer our custom- near , Ontario. The proposed nected storage pools and is also fully ers flexible and customised storage C$1.5-bn expansion of the Dawn-Park- integrated into the North American services to meet their needs,” informed way system is likely to increase take- supply and transportation system, Mr. Chris Young, Administration Man- away capacity from Dawn by 20%, said enabling customers to source natu- ager, Storage and Transmission Opera- Mr. Young. ral gas from all major North Ameri- tions, Union Gas. can supply basins and transport gas Mr. Jeff Gallie, Manager – System downstream to markets in eastern Speaking about the Dawn-Parkway Operations and Compression Storage Canada and the Northeastern US. System – one of the key natural gas and Transmission Operations, Union transmission corridors between Dawn Gas, noted that leading firms like Esso, “The integrated nature of Union and Parkway (Milton, Ontario), he said Suncor, Nova Chemicals, etc. typically Gas’ storage and transmission systems that about 4,800-km of pipeline move purchase their gas at Dawn and deliver this to Union Gas at Dawn for redeli- very to their plant.

“Energy-intensive companies need Western Canada Supply easy access to a liquid market hub where gas can be bought or sold with- QUEBEC ONTARIO out affecting the price. The Dawn Hub offers all the features of a liquid market U.S. NORTHEAST hub.

The price of natural gas at Dawn is set by the open market and is publicly

U.S. Mid-Continent U.S. MID-WEST available through energy industry Supply publications. It is connected to mul- tiple sources of gas supply through Marcellus & Utica Supply 10 major pipelines. Moreover natural gas supply options are expected to

Gulf of Mexico grow by 40% in three years through Supply three more proposed pipeline pro- jects,” he added.

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EDUCATION & RESEARCH Lambton College: Focused on creating skilled work- force and applied research Lambton College, tion & training The college’s new Centre of Excel- a premier college of and applied lence in Energy & Bio-Industrial Tech- applied arts and tech- research. “We nologies has been set up to provide nology in Sarnia, On- take pride in professional training and education to tario, which has been producing job- support the need for skilled workforce servicing Canadian ready gradu- in the energy and biotechnology indus- and international ates. Through tries. “Our faculty and facilities support students for over 47 integration local businesses through applied re- years, is playing a with our indus- search, commercialisation, incubation, vital role in the con- trial partners, prototyping & pilot plant studies and tinuing success of Lambton Col- projects to develop new technologies, Ontario’s chemical- lege ensures products and processes,” informs Ms. biochemical industry experiential Morris. sectors. The college is learning, grad- not only the breeding uate place- Speaking about the college’s ground for the future ments, applied focus on applied research and col- workforce of the in- research, and laborations with companies in the dustry, but also an ac- professional Sarnia-Lambton region, Dr. Mehdi tive participant in ini- development Sheikhzadeh, Dean, Applied Research tiating research and developing novel opportunities,” she says. The college and Development, Lambton College, technologies in collaboration with in- offers programmes like Chemical Pro- says, “Through focussing on applied dustry. duction and Power Engineering Tech- research and innovation, Lambton nology; Instrumentation & Control College has become a provincially Ms. Judith Morris, President, Engineering Technology; Power En- recognised R&D hub. Our areas of Lambton College, emphasises the two- gineering Technology and Advanced expertise include a wide range tech- pronged focus of the college: educa- Power Engineering Technology. nology related themes such as ad- vanced materials, instrumentation & process control, advanced manufac- turing, water, energy, biotechnology and information technology. We have been able to provide support in these areas to many organisations, small- to-medium enterprises (SMEs), and have helped to develop new products, improve existing ones and advance current processes and practices. Ad- ditionally, Lambton College has de- veloped a unique partnership with the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park, leveraging the strengths of each organisation to form a unique in- novation hub. The formation of this alliance allows us to provide a wide range of R&D services to a variety of companies.”

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